Crockpot Stuffed Green Peppers with Asiago Fresco Cheese

At the end of the summer, I had the chance to try out a wide variety of cheese from Sam’s Club. I will admit that I am pretty plain in the sense when it comes to cheese. I like Cheddar, American and Mozzarella on my Italian food, and that’s about it. When this opportunity came up, I was scared, yet excited to branch out to some new flavors and try out some new recipes.

Here’s what we received; a nice sample of each:

Mario Batali Organic Parmigiano Reggiano– Parmigiano Reggiano is a hard Italian cheese made from cow’s milk; its origins date back to the 13th century. This cheese is aged for 22-24 months to three years, and has a compact grainy texture.

Mario Batali Mountain Gorgonzola – Blue cheese that comes from Italy’s Lombardy region that is aged longer to make it more robust and firmer with an earthy flavor.

Provolone Stravecchio – This cheese has a traditional flavor of Auricchio Stravecchio, which is produced according to an ancient recipe which requires a slow aging period of over a year.

Asiago Fresco – Asiago Fresco is made from full-fat milk, specifically chosen from the high mountain and valley pastures of the Trentino region.

Fromage D’Affinois –This French double-cream cheese is similar to brie in production, appearance and flavor; the difference being that before turning the milk into cheese, the milk undergoes a process called ultra filtration, which removes moisture from the pasteurized milk.

Roquefort – Roquefort is one of the most famous blue-veined cheeses. Roquefort is made of sheep’s milk from a defined area and must be aged in particular caves in the south of France.

Blue Stilton – Blue Stilton has an extraordinary flavor that is full, rich and creamy, and carefully aged to create its distinctive blue veins.

Mario Batali Iberico – This cheese comes from cow, goat, and sheep’s milk; it is firm, tangy, hearty, and has an inedible black rind with an embossed basket-weave pattern.

Parrano – Parrano is aged for five months, developing its nutty Parmesan flavor while maintaining the firm, smooth texture of Gouda.

Maytag Blue – Maytag Blue cheese is produced by having each wheel made by hand, aging it in caves twice as long as most other blue cheeses.

DaVinci Gouda –This full cream cheese is made from pure Dutch cow’s milk and filled with a subtle balance of tomatoes, olives and seasonings. A dash of garlic completes the masterpiece.

Greek Isle Barrel Aged Greek Feta –The original Feta was a sheep’s milk cheese made in the Balkans. It is often made from a mixture of sheep’s and goat’s milk, or goat’s and cow’s milk.

I had NO idea that Sam’s Club offered this many cheeses! (I will have another post coming up with ideas for what you can use these cheeses for)

Sam’s Club will introduce these cheeses in select clubs over the next several months. We are happy to present these new cheeses as our members are excited for new food to experiment with at home, and see it as form of entertainment. The new cheese selection comes from some of the highest quality European brands and these family owned operations are thrilled to serve Sam’s Club members.

I had to check out to see if our local Sam’s Club had these cheeses yet and I have to say that I am very impressed with our selection – and to think… there is more coming! Here’s our Sam’s Club in Omaha, NE.

When I received them, my mind was going a million miles a minute trying to think of what I could come up with. My first dish that I made was Stuffed Bell Peppers. Hubby was beyond ecstatic when he saw that I had pulled out fresh Bell Peppers and started compiling all the ingredients.

When I cook, I like to change up recipes that may have been used in my house growing up, or I will take a recipe in my recipe book and tweak it up a bit. With this recipe, I thought I’d do something completely off based what I normally would do; I decided to try a whole new mixture for the stuffing… in a Crockpot!

Here’s my recipe. Again, I pulled a recipe that I had used years ago in my 20 year old self made cookbook with recipes I’ve been handed down and some of my own creations, and simmered it in the Crockpot – all day!

Since I am not a bell pepper fan, I made these for hubby and he said they were the best I’ve ever made! Again, this is my own recipe I made up and surprisingly it smelled good to me and hubby loved it!

Crockpot Stuffed Green Peppers with Asiago Fresco Cheese

1 package of Lipton Onion Soup Mix (You can also use fresh diced tomatoes – I used the soup mix because I have a toddler with a texture issue, but I still wanted to get that onion flavoring)

1 large can of tomato sauce; 16 ounces

2 jars of home canned tomatoes (you can use fresh or canned tomatoes or even just use tomato sauce)

¾ cup uncooked rice (I used brown rice, but you can use any uncooked rice)

Fresh dried basil, about a teaspoon, sprinkled in mixture

1 cup of water, or more depending on cooking texture throughout the day of cooking

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce; more or less depending on your likings

1 cup Asiago Fresco Cheese (You can use any cheese you prefer)

Crockpot Directions:
Ground the meat, drain & put in Crockpot. Take all the ingredients, with the exception of the cheese, and put in the Crockpot. I started out with 16 ounces of tomato sauce & a cup of water, but added to the mixture throughout the day. I added a bit more rice than it usually calls for, but it turned out for a perfect serving to freeze for later.

Cook in the Crockpot all day; about 8 hours. This is a perfect recipe to toss in the Crockpot and go run errands. Stir occasionally and you can add more seasonings, water, sauce as needed and to your preference.

Just before you are ready to serve, take the four (or more if you made more stuffing) bell peppers, cut the stems off and scrape out any seeds/membranes & boil for 3-5 minutes, until the peppers are soft, but not soggy.

Take the peppers out of the boiling water, drain and dry any extra water out. This was funny… when I was cutting the peppers to boil, there was one that looked like another pepper was growing inside it.

Within the cooked stuffing mixture, I like to take some grated cheese and add half the cheese to the stuffing, stuff the peppers with the mixture and top with more grated cheese and sprinkle with basil.Looks good, doesn’t it?

Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees, or until heated thoroughly and cheese is melted.

What did it turn out like? See for yourself.I made one with cheddar and one with Asiago Fresco Cheese. Hubby said he loved the one with Asiago Fresco Cheese more than he thought, and more than the one with Cheddar!

Would you like to learn about additional cheeses Sam’s Club has to offer AND win a trip to Paris?

Sam’s Club now has a new Fall Harvest site that includes lots of information on the cheeses featured above, décor and items for Fall Harvest parties! Be sure to go check it out! http://bit.ly/doOdyR

I am working with Sam’s Club in which they provided me with monetary compensation for my participation in the Baby Month Campaign, however all opinions are 100% my own.